Inteference problems are a pain to diagnose, but the good news is that in just about every case the cause can be located. Since your inteference problem is recent you should look for changes that may have occured in and around your home recently. Also, since hte interference affects sets connected to both inside and outside antennas it is safe to rule out cable and ground issues, atleast as far as the antennas go. Since the inteference also affects all channels, it is rather unlikely that weather conditions alone are to blame. Weather conditions typically will either 1.) attenuate distance signals making them noisier or blanking them out completely, or 2.) allowing distant signals on the same channel to travel farther thus causing inteference to nearby stations. While #2 could still be a likely cause, I'm thinkin something electrical is to blame. The questions I normally as are: 1. Have you purchases/installed/connected any electronics, appliances, computers, ANYTHING electric around the time the inteference began? 2. To the best of your knowledge has any of your immediate neighbors done the same in regards to new electrical equipment. 3. Look for cause-effect relationships. Does the inteference start when someone dries their hair, uses an electric shaver, does laundry, etc. 4. Any new construction nearby? Power tools, especially arc welders can cause electrical noise from longer distances, sometimes ranging from hundreds to thousands of feet. 5. Probably not applicable down there, but electric heat and water heaters if they develop a problem can cause inteference too. There are other tips, but I think you get the idea. If you still get stuck, don't hesitate to call one of your local tv stations and ask for some guidance. Make sure you ask for someone in the engineering department, they are used to dealing with these issues on a regular basis. Best of luck! - Steve

a few months back i wired our upstairs bedroom for cable tv and installed and had the cable company inspect it and had them install an amplifier. the amplifier is plugged in the nursery circut, which doesnt have anything plugged in that room except a light. about every hour or so our cable (upstairs only) goes completly fuzzy for 3-4 minutes then back to normal. after checking in the basement, there are a few spots where there are electrical lines that come within an inch or so from the cable line. i am not sure what is on those circuts, but is it possible that something that is not on all the time but only periodicly could cause some type of interferince? the appliances i was thinking about are the fridge, chest freezer, furnace or sump pump. is it possible one of these are causing interferience? at this point i dont think i would be able to relocate either the electrical or the cable. would there be any other solution to this? i have called the cable company and they say we would have to pay for them to come and try to fix it because they did not install it and that costs money we dont have! any help would be appriciated.

"It is my understanding that LED lights need a transformer. Some fixtures come with a transformer built in. Others need a transformer added on." Most of the "transformer built in" devices are using a high frequency switching power supply to reduce the size of the unit. Transformers with 120 V promaries are not small devices, witness the size of even a very low poer 'wall wart.' The volume of most of them is the actual 60 Hz transformer, and they often cannot even produce 1 amp of output current. A 10 watt, 12 volt incandescent bulb requires about 0.83 amps. LEDs are a little better (often being less than 0.10 amps each) but since there are often multiple devices present the actual operating current goes back up. LEDs often use a combination of series and parallel paths to allow for slightly higher voltages (less drop from the 120 V input) and smaller currents.

There have been reports of all power linemen, power house workers, electrical engineers, and phone techs having a higher incidence of brain cancer floating around for many years. All have used poor (at best) methodology and at best have established a weak correlation. None has ever identified causation. There is at least some evidence that transformer oils with PCBs may have played a part. Very few COs (Central Offices for phones) use the racks of relays and switches anymore. Most are now entirely electronic. The reliability is much higher for the new stuff. The old stepper relays required large crews and almost constant maintenance to keep them operating, along with a much larger amount of power. I have supported research (PhD in EE) into EMF effects for a number of projects over the years and not a single one has found any statistically significant effect until the levels produced localized heating of tissue. This has been the demonstrated mechanism with repeatable results for many years. Many of the studies outside of labs have used 'wire codes' (go out and count conductors on poles) and other dubious methods to 'gauge' EMF strength. A few more sophisticated ones have tried actually measuring the fields. None has produced a decent correlation with field strength or a dose-response connection that has statistical validity. Hunting with an AM radio works very well for EMI problems at pretty low cost. I have even used it to scan very expensive systems (aircraft, ships, computer installations etc.) as a quick & dirty check. After eliminating the most obvious sources you come back with a spectrum analyzer and look for anything else that was missed.